Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Airport Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Boise Airport recognizes three employees, TSA officer and police for on-site life saving on May 19
Summary
Southwest employee Melissa Eckhart, TSO Anthony Wilbur and TSO Amy Stacy received exceptional-service awards after coordinated CPR and AED use at Boise Airport saved a passenger on May 19, 2025; Boise Police and Fire personnel were also recognized.
Boise Airport officials presented exceptional-service awards Sept. 3 to three people whose quick action and coordination helped save a passenger who suffered a cardiac event at the terminal on May 19, 2025.
The awards citation said a Southwest Airlines employee, Melissa Eckhart, witnessed the man collapse, called 911 and relayed critical information; transfer station security officer Anthony Wilbur began CPR at Eckhart’s direction; Transportation Security Officer Amy Stacy retrieved and deployed an automated external defibrillator (AED) while continuing CPR until Boise Fire Department personnel arrived. Corporal Greg Hoffhorn of the Boise Police Department also arrived within minutes and took charge of the scene.
“Due to the quick, calm, and coordinated action that saved a man’s life, Melissa Eckhart, TSO Anthony Wilbur, and TSO Amy Stacy are hereby awarded the exceptional service award,” Captain Mike Hill of the Boise Police Department’s Community Outreach Division told the commission.
Boise Fire Captain Tim Wanakott and other firefighters who responded were noted during the presentation. The person who was saved—whose name was not provided at the meeting—stood to thank the team and told the commission the rescue had “impact[ed] my survival, my children and my grandchildren.”
Rebecca Hupp, identified during opening remarks as a member of airport leadership, thanked the employees and partner agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration and Southwest Airlines, and noted the awards also acknowledge training and readiness among airport and federal staff.
The commission invited the person who was saved and family members forward; the meeting record shows hospital transport and subsequent recovery occurred after the incident. Airport staff said corporal Greg Hoffhorn will receive a separate life-saving award from the Boise Police Department at an upcoming ceremony.
The recognition closed with the commission thanking the public-safety professionals and airline staff who assisted that day.
